New Court Design Bolsters Cardinal Athletics, DuFour Center

WASHINGTON - The Franny Murray Court received
an upgrade this summer with a new hardwood surface officially
completed on July 20. The DuFour Athletic Center welcomed the
latest addition with open arms and is proud to make it a key focal
point for the 2014-15 season. The new court design offers
unique elements of color, shape, and texture thanks to the artistic
vision of Paul Saikia.

Saikia has designed multiple floors in the past including the
Grumbacher Sport & Fitness Center at York College of
Pennsylvania and Kneller Athletic Center at Clark University
(MA). Saikia serves as the Assistant Dean for Athletics
& Recreation at York College. He has also served as
the Head Coach for the Spartan baseball team, where his teams have
won three Capital Athletic Conference Championships and have made
nine NCAA Tournaments.

Saikia’s design is meant to portray a visually brilliant
and powerful look, while maintaining a clean and professional
appearance. The new floor allows The Catholic University of
America department of Athletics to continue to produce a first-rate
gameday experience for spectators, fans and the Cardinal
student-athletes that play on it.

The new floor design specifics include two primary competition
courts for basketball and volleyball and two secondary courts that
can be used for multiple practices, as well as tournaments.
The secondary courts are displayed by tick marks in order to keep
the main visual focus on the primary court for gamedays. This
prevents multiple lines overlapping on the court.

The new floor layout will have the Cardinal head logo at center
court. Along with the Cardinal head logo are two
“Franny Murray Court” signatures on each side of the
court, “The Catholic University of America” text
running on both sidelines, “Cardinals” in red text
along the baselines, two-tone wood surfacing to distinguish the
three point area and free throw area, and a red fill for the three
second area.

CUA now joins three other local universities that have upgraded
their courts in the past two seasons. That list includes
George Mason University, Loyola University, and Georgetown
University.

The Cardinal volleyball squad will be the first to open
competition play on the new floor by hosting the Guetle CUA
Invitational from Sept. 6-7.